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Jun 17th 2013

Replication, Backup or Both?

Posted by in Hyper-V |


MP900315598[1]Q: If I use replication for a virtual machine does that mean that I no longer need to worry about backing it up?

A: The short answer is you should still back up the virtual machine! The reason is that all data protection systems seek to eliminate the two critical challenges of downtime, and data loss. Each problem costs the business lots of money. In the IT industry the goals of limiting, or even eliminating, data loss and down time are referred to as Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) (for data loss), and Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) (for downtime.) Replication makes a copy of a running virtual machine and then synchronizes updates from that running VM at regular intervals so that the replica is ready to run with the most current information should the need arise for a failover. The content of a replica changes with each new synchronization. Failover can take place very rapidly and often results in little to no downtime for the business and a very low RTO.

A Veeam Backup makes a point in time archive of all the files, settings, snapshots, binaries, and configuration files that make up a VM. This archive is stored in a single file (*.VBK) that is often compressed and deduplicated to save disk space. Completed backup files give the business a point in time from which to recover any and all files associated with a VM. If backups are completed with regular frequency they can be very effective at preventing data loss entirely and at recovering data in the event of accidental or purposeful deletion. Backup provides a very strong RPO solution.

There are those who might wish to argue that a good replica could also reduce RPO while also reducing RTO, however because the replica, which is actually a functional set of a virtual machine’s files, is constantly changing with synchronization updates there is never an established point in time from which to initiate recovery. In addition it is important to note that during failover a replica VM is locked to changes and a snapshot is used to enable VM operation while preserving the original state of the virtual machine.

The long and short of it is really pretty simple. Replication is a great way to get reduced RTO. Backup is still the best way to reduce RPO. Use both!

wp-preview-posey-hands-on-guide-newFor more information about all things Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 please check out the free E-book from Veeam “The Hands-On Guide to Understanding Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012.”

Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

Jun 3rd 2013

Veeam Content Roundup for May 2013

Posted by in Announcements |


imageWas it just me or did May fly by? We are all kicking into Veeam Speed and this installment of the Content Roundup will convince you that this is indeed the case. The big push is Veeam Backup & Replication v7; and in May we took the wraps off as part of our promotional plan and announced our full feature list. We are still on track to see v7 become generally available in Q3 of this year. Here are the highlights of what we’ve been doing in the past month for v7 and more:

· Mike Resseler released a whitepaper, “Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager and

· Veeam Backup & Replication – Better Together”. This is also the same theme of our session at Microsoft TechEd North America, which is going on this week in New Orleans.

· If you are going to TechEd, be sure to check out our InfoGraphic of what Veeam has planned for TechEd.

· Doug Hazelman blogged about our latest disruptive innovation, Built-In WAN Acceleration that is part of Backup Copy Job functionality. Now everyone can get their backups offsite!

· Rick Vanover delivered the public Sneak Peek webinar of Veeam Backup & Replication v7, where we had a huge crowd! This webinar is now available for replay.

· Mike Resseler delivered a great webinar on the #1 most requested feature from existing Veeam customers: Native Tape Support. He had a great crowd and this webinar is also available for replay.

· Another one of the v7 features that many people are excited about is Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SharePoint. This really makes recovery easy for SharePoint environments, Rick Vanover delivered this webinar and it is ready for replay now online.

· Veeam’s Annual Data Protection Report for 2013 has been released as a free download, you can find out what CIOs find as a priority with Data Protection as well as what are priorities going forward.

· We announced that v7 will include support for Virtual Labs for Replicas, a great way to put your VMware Replicas to work. Hans De Leenheer did a blog post on the topic, we have a video on the feature, and Hans will deliver a live global webinar on the topic also.

· As it turns out May isn’t all about Backup & Replication. Mike Resseler and Alec King presented a webinar to take control of your VMware Capacity Planning needs with the Veeam MP. You can replay that webinar now also.

· Lastly, we have our “Cool” promotion ongoing this month, and the giveaway is just what the aspiring virtualization professional wants: An incredible mobile virtualization lab with SSDs, 32 GB of RAM and all the software you’ll need. You can still register!

And those are just the highlights! Of course, keep engaging with us here on the blog, on Twitter and as always in the Veeam Forums.

Rating: 5.0/5 (5 votes cast)

May 28th 2013

InfoGraphic – Veeam at TechEd North America

Posted by in TechEd |


With TechEd North America in less than 2 weeks we are working hard to deliver you some top content!  If you want to know all the major things that we are involved in then you definitively need to check out our created infograph!

If you want to get the raw image of this infograph then go and grab it at: http://vee.am/lsk70

The infographic summarizes all the great stuff that we present to you at TechEd North America.  From 3 break-out sessions, experts at our booth,, an awesome party that we will be hosting.  And I even didn't mention the great give-aways we will be having at our booth!

From funky robots to flashy USB-drives and nice looking t-shirts.  And don't forget our nice price-raffle!  You could win the ultimate storage system for your home-lab!

 

Grab the original image at: http://vee.am/lsk70 or the PDF version at: http://vee.am/lt5e0

For more information:

MDC-B292: System Center Data Protection Manager & Veeam: Better Together

MDC-B304: Managing Multi-Hypervisor Environment with System Center 2012

MDC-B324: Key Metrics and Practices for Monitoring Virtualization Platforms

Veeam Party 

Modern Operating System

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Rating: 5.0/5 (3 votes cast)

May 19th 2013

Countdown to v7 – Built-in WAN Acceleration

Posted by in Announcements |


 

Today we announced 2 disruptive innovations that will be available in Veeam Backup & Replication v7: Built-in WAN Acceleration and Backup from Storage Snapshots.

Over the past few months, you may have seen our announcements regarding the 7 new market-leading features coming in v7; if not, you can check them out here: http://go.veeam.com/v7.

There is tremendous interest in v7, and I wanted to offer some additional explanation here about our Built-in WAN Acceleration.

Built-in WAN Acceleration

Yes, we’re going to be including WAN acceleration in Veeam Backup & Replication v7. This is not a “general purpose” WAN accelerator, but functionality specifically tuned for Veeam data transfers across the WAN. The major benefit to start is that if you need to “copy” your backups to an offsite location, we can determine what data blocks are already there and send less data across the WAN connection. Our WAN acceleration includes global caching, variable length dedupe, traffic compression, TCP/IP optimizations (multi-threading, provisions for high latency links) and resume on disconnect.

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Rating: 5.0/5 (16 votes cast)

May 14th 2013

Hyper-V Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 with Hyper-V?

Posted by in Hyper-V |


There has been a lot of talk about Hyper-V in its 2012 editions. One of the questions that I hear on a regular basis is about which version of Hyper-V to use. Usually the conversation goes something like this.

“So Microsoft makes Hyper-V Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 with Hyper-V?”

“Yes.”

“Hyper-V Server 2012 is a free download, right?”

“Right!”

“So why would I want to use Windows Server 2012 to get Hyper-V?”

The question is a good one, and it has a really good answer. Licensing! Here are the nitty gritty details. First this from the Microsoft Hyper-V Server2012 page;

“Hyper-V Server is a dedicated stand-alone product that contains the hypervisor, Windows Server driver model, virtualization capabilities, and supporting components such as failover clustering, but does not contain the robust set of features and roles as the Windows Server operating system.”

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Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

May 7th 2013

Countdown to v7: Virtual Labs for Replicas

Posted by in SureBackup |


If you thought we would run out of awesome ideas for our solution, think again.  We’re announcing the 7th feature in our Countdown to v7 today: Virtual Labs for Replicas (currently for VMware only).

Our customers and partners have long been asking us to add “SureReplica” functionality - in other words, enable the SureBackup capability for replicas and not just for backups. However, we at Veeam saw a lot more potential for also using replicas to take advantage of resources that are currently being wasted. In v7, we’re taking the SureReplica feature request beyond automated replica verification to provide you with the full range of functionality you’re already leveraging with Veeam backups.

So, the subtitle for this blog post should be: Put Your Replicas to Work! Most of the DR sites out there are idle, waiting for a major disaster to strike. Instead of gathering dust while waiting for the worst to happen, Veeam is offering you a way to actually give those resources value beyond disaster recovery. This time we’re going further. Now we’re bringing all the powerful capabilities of Virtual Labs for backup (SureBackup, U-AIR, On-Demand-Sandbox) to your replicas too.

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Rating: 5.0/5 (12 votes cast)

May 3rd 2013

Veeam Content Roundup for April 2013

Posted by in Announcements |


imageIn this installment of the Content Roundup for April 2013, we have no shortage of things going on with the Veeam Teeam! This is a good time as we are really ramping up to v7 of Veeam Backup & Replication, but there are still a lot of other things going on. We’ve had a number of events, a release of the MP, awesome news and some great product and thought leadership content to share. Just recently we celebrated the 5th birthday of Veeam Backup & Replication on May 2, hence why this post is a bit after the end of the month. Nobody likes someone taking attention away from their birthday anyways, right?

Here’s the roundup from April of 2013:

Rating: 5.0/5 (2 votes cast)

May 2nd 2013

Happy Birthday Veeam Backup & Replication!

Posted by in Announcements |


It's been just over 5 years that Veeam Backup & Replication has been available. The time sure did seem to fly...in 5 years Veeam Backup & Replication now has over 63,000 customers protecting millions of VM's. It's been a great first 5 years and I'm very excited for the next 5. 

I'd like to thank Timothy Lutz and Paul Campanale for providing us with some great feedback. Timothy and Paul have both been long time customers...

 

Timothy Lutz

System Administrator

Frontier Science Foundation

Frontier Science is a non-profit organization that specializes in data management and statistical preparation for various patient studies across the globe.

We succeeded in virtualizing our infrastructure  several years ago.  Because of the sensitive nature of our business, we have to take every precaution to protect our data.  VEEAM B&R has been a viral part of our backup plan since we first went virtual.  The flagship Backup and Replication product had a few issues when we first began using it, but soon evolved into an extremely solid product.   This has been most evident when using the replication seeding feature over the WAN.

The instant recovery feature sealed the deal for us.  In addition to allowing us to quicky test a backup, it also allows us to easily reference any suspected or undocumented configuration changes. 

We just could not live without VEEAM B & R.

 

Paul Campanale

Systems Administrator

Superior Construction Company

I have used Veeam Backup and Replication for our VMware infrastructure for the last 5 years.  I think I started using your product since it was first introduced.  I have found Veeam has proven itself time and time again and it keeps getting better.  I have successfully restored entire VM’s as well as guest files.  I have created replicas.  Veeam has functioned flawlessly

Great support when I infrequently need it and great product!

I not only would recommend Veeam but I have recommended your product to many coworkers and colleagues.
I honestly cannot offer any areas where you can improve.

Finally, our graphics team put together this great infographic showing the past 5 years of Veeam Backup & Replicaton. It's a bit large, you can also download the PDF version.

 

 

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Rating: 5.0/5 (3 votes cast)

Apr 29th 2013

Countdown #6: Enhanced 1-Click Restore in Veeam Backup & Replication v7

Posted by in Announcements |


As part of our run up to v7 of Veeam Backup & Replication, we’re announcing a number of new features that will be part of this big release. The latest announcement expands on a v6 feature that solved a big problem for many organizations, you won’t believe what we have in store here!

This new feature centers on self-service for virtualized environments. On demand self-service is one of the key tenets of any public, private, or hybrid cloud. The point is that if a user can service their own needs there will be greater efficiency, greater satisfaction for the user, and less cost to the business. Everybody wins! So how does this apply to the world of modern data protection? The answer, in two words, is 1-Click Restore.

Since version 6, 1-Click Restore has made it easy for users to recover lost or corrupted files. In version 7, we’re extending 1-Click Restore to include self-service recovery of individual VMs!

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Rating: 5.0/5 (5 votes cast)

Apr 18th 2013

The countdown continues! Announcing tape support in Veeam Backup & Replication v7

Posted by in Announcements |


 

We’ve already announced four great new features coming in Veeam Backup & Replication v7. And, we’re not done yet! We’re proud to announce the fifth new feature in the Countdown to v7—Archive to Tape!

If you’ve been using Veeam for a while, you know our focus has been on helping customers realize the full potential that virtualization provides for a modern IT infrastructure. Thus far, we’ve not supported writing backup files to tape natively. However, we heard you in the Veeam Forums, on Twitter and at events, and Veeam Backup & Replication v7 delivers Archive to Tape, giving you options for archiving your backups—disk, cloud and tape.

The new tape support is a great way to make Veeam backups portable and take them offsite. Much like Veeam Backup & Replication Cloud Edition, which allows easy offsite backups to more than 15 different public storage providers, tape support answers the question “How do I get my backups offsite in a cost-effective manner?”

Tape is dead?

If you believe the media, it is. But, based on customer feedback, we know this isn’t true for everyone. Whether dealing with compliance rules, internal policies or if you simply need to archive backups using tape infrastructure you’ve already invested in, these challenges can be solved with our Archive to Tape.

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Rating: 5.0/5 (23 votes cast)